M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. Invests $224,000 in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on HLT shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.24.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 0.0 %

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $246.69 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $249.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.94, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $182.86 and a 52-week high of $259.01.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total value of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Profile

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc, a hospitality company, engages in managing, franchising, owning, and leasing hotels and resorts. It operates through two segments, Management and Franchise, and Ownership. The company engages in the hotel management and licensing of its brands. It operates luxury hotels under the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts, and Conrad Hotels & Resorts brand; lifestyle hotels under the Canopy by Hilton, Curio Collection by Hilton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, Tempo by Hilton, and Motto by Hilton brand; full service hotels under the Signia by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and DoubleTree by Hilton brand; service hotels under the Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, and Tru by Hilton brand; all-suite hotels under the Embassy Suites by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton, and Home2 Suites by Hilton brand; and economy hotel under the Spark by Hilton brand, as well as Hilton Grand Vacations.